Elleda Wilson: Gull Samaritan

Elleda Wilson, The Daily Astorian, Ore.
·1 min read

Jun. 2—Rescue rerun: "On Aug. 22, my wife, Jeni, and I stopped to spend the night in Astoria," Howie Silver, of Park Forest, Illinois, said. "We took a nice walk along the riverfront. As we sat on a bench, we noticed a seagull that had gotten its foot caught in a piling just west of the Columbia River Maritime Museum. It was trying very desperately to escape, but to no avail.

"Finally, some nice young man put on a wetsuit and paddled on his surf board out to the gull. He worked very carefully and eventually freed the gull." The rescuer and the happy gull are pictured in Howie's photo.

"Those of us on the shore gave him a round of applause," Howie added. "He then swam back to the shore, removed the wetsuit, got in his car, and drove off." Bravo, Gull Samaritan, whoever you are. (In One Ear, 9/23/2011)